Officials from Thailand’s Consumer Protection Board (CPB) based in Bangkok were in Phuket on Tuesday to push for an urgent solution to problems between the developers of the Ace 1 condominium project and its buyers.
The condominium buyers had complained that although they had paid monthly as per the purchase contract, work had not even started on the building.
The developers, The Nine Property (Patong) Co, last week blamed the situation on an “internal problem” in the company.
At the meeting, CPB Secretary General Ampon Wongsiri said repeatedly, “We don’t want just verbal promises. We need something on paper.”
Both sides in the “internal problem” at The Nine came to the meeting, and both stressed that they were not refusing to repay the buyers, but that repayment had been blocked by the internal problem, which is now the subject of a civil action in the Thai courts.
Governor Nisit Jansomwong, who last week discussed the problem with representatives of The Nine, told the meeting, “I want this solved. I want to help the people who have this problem. Some want their money back but others still want a condo so I don’t think the company will have a money problem.”
Governor Nisit added to the CPB officials, on a wider note, “I really want specific rules about property, condominiums and timeshares to protect the customer.”
At the meeting the CPB officials said that they had ordered The Nine to file, with the CPB and the Governor, a formal pledge stating when and how buyers’ money would be repaid.
A deadline of seven days was set for the pledge to be delivered.
After the meeting, the CPB officials went to Patong to inspect the Ace 1 condominium site and to talk with some of the aggrieved buyers.
This story was first published by The Phuket News and is reproduced as part of an editorial partnership between The Phuket News and PropertyGuru Group.
